ADVERTISEMENT

Talent Level

U

URWilk110

Assistant Coach
Oct 29, 2008
646
628
93
I am not one to criticize our players even though I have been critical of our coaches for several years now. However, today was eye opening. I live in NJ and only get to see the Spiders in person once or twice a year. Today was my one time for this season.

The level of basketball that I witnessed in the two games at the Barclays Center was atrocious. The fact that we are in the bottom four of this joke of a basketball conference should get Mooney fired without having to take into consideration the past 13 years.

I had the pleasure of watching our game with an ex-Fordham basketball player who played in the mid to late 2000s. Before the game he commented to me that this Fordham team has one A10 level player on the roster. After watching the game, I would agree with him. And we beat that team by 2 points on a last second shot.

As much as I despise Chris Mooney, I typically enjoy when I get to watch the Spiders in person one or two times a year. I was looking forward to seeing our few guys that I consider A10 level talent play today. Maybe they had an off day but I was not impressed by what I saw from Grant and Gilyard against a terrible Fordham team. If they are as elite as we think they are, they alone should have dominated this game but they did not.

Then add on top Mooney not knowing how to attack a 2-3 zone as usual and then instructing to foul up two with 6 seconds left? Mooney needs to be gone after we get blown out tomorrow night and we need to start from scratch regardless of who might leave the program because of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: plydogg, MostlyLurking McG, Anilspider and 7 others
URWilk110 said:
I am not one to criticize our players even though I have been critical of our coaches for several years now. However, today was eye opening. I live in NJ and only get to see the Spiders in person once or twice a year. Today was my one time for this season.

The level of basketball that I witnessed in the two games at the Barclays Center was atrocious. The fact that we are in the bottom four of this joke of a basketball conference should get Mooney fired without having to take into consideration the past 13 years.

I had the pleasure of watching our game with an ex-Fordham basketball player who played in the mid to late 2000s. Before the game he commented to me that this Fordham team has one A10 level player on the roster. After watching the game, I would agree with him. And we beat that team by 2 points on a last second shot.

As much as I despise Chris Mooney, I typically enjoy when I get to watch the Spiders in person one or two times a year. I was looking forward to seeing our few guys that I consider A10 level talent play today. Maybe they had an off day but I was not impressed by what I saw from Grant and Gilyard against a terrible Fordham team. If they are as elite as we think they are, they alone should have dominated this game but they did not.

Then add on top Mooney not knowing how to attack a 2-3 zone as usual and then instructing to foul up two with 6 seconds left? Mooney needs to be gone after we get blown out tomorrow night and we need to start from scratch regardless of who might leave the program because of it.
Click to expand...

Grant and Jacob are elite A-10 players. You should watch more than 1 game before saying they are not.
 
I have watched just about every game this year. I said “in person”. Sorry if I don’t live in the Richmond area. I also said maybe they had an off day. But they both played timid against an AWFUL basketball team. Kevin Anderson, Kendall Anthony, Cedric Lindsay, etc. all would have dominated this Fordham team. So would have Dan Geriot, Justin Harper, Terry Allen, TJ Cline, etc. In my opinion even though Gilyard and Golden put up some nice stats, they don’t compare to those players I just listed. Sure Jacob is a sophomore and Grant is a redshirt sophomore so maybe they will get there. But our best two players should be able to dominate the 14th seed in the A10 tournament.
 
URWilk110 said:
I have watched just about every game this year. I said “in person”. Sorry if I don’t live in the Richmond area. I also said maybe they had an off day. But they both played timid against an AWFUL basketball team. Kevin Anderson, Kendall Anthony, Cedric Lindsay, etc. all would have dominated this Fordham team. So would have Dan Geriot, Justin Harper, Terry Allen, TJ Cline, etc. In my opinion even though Gilyard and Golden put up some nice stats, they don’t compare to those players I just listed. Sure Jacob is a sophomore and Grant is a redshirt sophomore so maybe they will get there. But our best two players should be able to dominate the 14th seed in the A10 tournament.
Click to expand...

I love all the players you just mentioned, but you might want to go back and check some of their games as sophomores before comparing them to Grant and Jacob and choosing a lone game today to make your decision about Grant and Jacob.
 
Gilly and Grant are very good players who have lots of great basketball ahead of them no doubt. And they will improve but there are a bunch of good players coming back on other teams too. The conference player of the year will be back...there was only one senior on this year’s all A-10 team. VCU returns everyone. I think some folks just assume that we will be older and better than everyone in the next year or two. What will the excuse be in two years?
 
Captain Anderson said:
Gilly and Grant are very good players who have lots of great basketball ahead of them no doubt. And they will improve but there are a bunch of good players coming back on other teams too. The conference player of the year will be back...there was only one senior on this year’s all A-10 team. VCU returns everyone. I think some folks just assume that we will be older and better than everyone in the next year or two. What will the excuse be in two years?
Click to expand...

No excuses if we are not better next year. Much, much better. But, we need to stay healthy.
 
VT4700 said:
No excuses if we are not better next year. Much, much better. But, we need to stay healthy.
Click to expand...

Sad thing is, the rest of the league is pretty much young, too, and they're way better than us. You think they will remain static while we vastly improve? In the words of Olajuwon: DREAM ON.
 
VT4700 said:
No excuses if we are not better next year. Much, much better. But, we need to stay healthy.
Click to expand...
So you're already throwing up caveats. Great job.

Don't you get that things happen to many teams? Look at Tech when one of their top players went down. They still beat Duke & finished Top 5 in ACC.

It's just used as one of many crutches & outs for Mooney. If he recruits better and deeper, then it's not a problem as opposed to just another excuse.
 
We are going to have a very deep and talented team next year. We might have the top starting 5 in the conference. I also think the the first time in a long time we will have a solid and deep bench. Next year is going the be fun to watch.
 
wr70beh said:
Sad thing is, the rest of the league is pretty much young, too, and they're way better than us. You think they will remain static while we vastly improve? In the words of Olajuwon: DREAM ON.
Click to expand...
“DREAM ON”. I thought Aerosmith said that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: plydogg
Eight Legger said:
There is a zero percent chance of this team adding Sherod and Francis, keeping Mooney and making the NCAAs next year. As such, Mooney must go.
Click to expand...
Sorry, I forgot. Every post has to be about fire Mooney. For a second I thought it was about the quality of our players. Silly me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VT4700
The quality of our players is directly related to the quality of our coach and his ability to coach them to get better and to win. We are all in agreement that we have two outstanding players in Gilyard and Golden. Their careers here are just about halfway over, and what do they have to show for all their talent so far? One of the worst combined two-year records of any Spiders in the past three or four decades.

They deserve better than that, don't you think?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stork3, UFA 2006 and SouthJerseySpiderFan
UR80sfan said:
Sorry, I forgot. Every post has to be about fire Mooney. For a second I thought it was about the quality of our players. Silly me.
Click to expand...

When the quality shows, it must be not just Franco's, but a team with two 20 loss seasons in a row. You think they're just going to flip a switch and be awesome? Maybe with another coach, but not Mooney.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Not-A-Homer, spider23 and Eight Legger
UR80sfan said:
We are going to have a very deep and talented team next year. We might have the top starting 5 in the conference. I also think the the first time in a long time we will have a solid and deep bench. Next year is going the be fun to watch.
Click to expand...

How does that team stack up on defense?
 
Looks like Grant’s brother will be watching the NCAA tournament at home with Grant.
 
UR80sfan said:
We are going to have a very deep and talented team next year. We might have the top starting 5 in the conference. I also think the the first time in a long time we will have a solid and deep bench. Next year is going the be fun to watch.
Click to expand...

I mean look at the above, any outsider reads this about Mooney's team and they have to think A10 regular season title, no problem. Come to think of it, after a top 4 finish this year and everyone returning, makes a lot of sense.
 
SpiderK said:
Wish we had him.
Click to expand...

No question. I do too. A lot of guys have to make the decision of not playing much for a P6 or likely playing a lot, or at least a good amount more, for a mid major. Can't fault him if that is what he wants.
 
GKiller said:
No Excuses!! But let me list a potential one right after I say that. Lol.
Click to expand...

Wow. Really? You sure do love seeking out my posts and finding any random thing to comment on. Is it really crazy for me to say we need to stay healthy next year? Is there a team out there that does not hope they stay healthy next year? I would guess well over 90% of teams do not lose one of their top scorers for the season to an injury, and most, if not all, of the ones that do will not be as good as a result, so yes, I stand by saying we will be much better if we can avoid a major injury. Only an excuse if you want to call it that. I never said that.
 
VT4700 said:
Wow. Really? You sure do love seeking out my posts and finding any random thing to comment on. Is it really crazy for me to say we need to stay healthy next year? Is there a team out there that does not hope they stay healthy next year? I would guess well over 90% of teams do not lose one of their top scorers for the season to an injury, and most, if not all, of the ones that do will not be as good as a result, so yes, I stand by saying we will be much better if we can avoid a major injury. Only an excuse if you want to call it that. I never said that.
Click to expand...

Just a tip...if u r going to bust out No Excuses...it’s best if you leave out the ‘But’ altogether.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nathanw19
GKiller said:
Just a tip...if u r going to bust out No Excuses...it’s best if you leave out the ‘But’ altogether.
Click to expand...

Nope. You need to look at the post I responded to, which talked about Jacob and Grant and others returning and asked what the excuse might be. Read that and my post again. I started by saying no excuses, and was clearly responding to his post which mentioned excuse at the end, since I copied and pasted it. Notice the period after my no excuses sentence. Then, I transitioned to we need to stay healthy. Do we not? Doesn't every team need to stay healthy? Injuries speak for themselves. Anyone who just calls them weak excuses and does not see them for what they are is not being realistic. But, thanks for once again for showing what you are all about by making a big deal out of nothing.
 
Gilyard is a dog it was clearly an off day but even on a 2-14 shooting day he still managed to effect the game ie. the game winning play, thats what great players do.
Grant Golden 4-14 but still effects the game with his passing, had 7 assists and 11 reb damn near almost had a triple double. It was just an off day but I will say that Grant does sometimes disappear in big games against good big men and I just think that comes with him being a sophomore.

This team is going to be special next year, because that Cayo and Golden high low action is going to be tough to stop as more polished juniors especially when guys like Gilyard and Woijick are knocking down shots.
 
VT4700 said:
Nope. You need to look at the post I responded to, which talked about Jacob and Grant and others returning and asked what the excuse might be. Read that and my post again. I started by saying no excuses, and was clearly responding to his post which mentioned excuse at the end, since I copied and pasted it. Notice the period after my no excuses sentence. Then, I transitioned to we need to stay healthy. Do we not? Doesn't every team need to stay healthy? Injuries speak for themselves. Anyone who just calls them weak excuses and does not see them for what they are is not being realistic. But, thanks for once again for showing what you are all about by making a big deal out of nothing.
Click to expand...
No ones arguing that we need to or want to stay healthy. But you said no excuses (in reference to what excuses might be), and then gave a qualifier on what you think we need to have a successful season.

It’s not a big deal, and we don’t need to make a federal case out of it, but it’s definitely funny.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: GKiller and gospidersgo
And Wilk, watching us play Longwood earlier this year I had the same thoughts. Not even necessarily just basketball talent, but athleticism and length. I'm sure the dead environment yesterday didn't help the eye test either.
 
And perhaps it was just a function of Fordham going to a 2-3 for a majority of the game but I was really hoping for a better performance from our top two players against the bottom feeder of a terrible conference that, by an ex-Fordham player's viewpoint, has only one A10 caliber player.
 
I also just looked up the stats from each of the players that I mentioned in my original post in their first round A10 tournament game of their sophomore year. Only two of them had solid games, Kevin Anderson and Terry Allen. The others had awful games, however, none of them were playing the 14th seed in the conference. Most were playing higher seeded teams.

This also reminded me how incredibly terrible Chris Mooney coached teams have been in the A10 tournament since we won it in 2011. Just another one of the reasons he needs to be fired in the next few days.
 
Why can't we figure out how to play against a standard zone?
 
I say, either commit the school and program to having a basketball team with a coach and the talent that can win the A-10, and regularly qualify for the NCAA tournament, or move to a conference where the schools are more like UR- small, liberal arts- The Patriot League. Why would the school switch from the CAA to the A-10 if it wasn't dreaming of success on some higher level? Why are they putting other programs, like the UR baseball and soccer, etc., in the A-10 with crazy travel requirements- going to UMASS and Dayton. Do they fly, or is it a bus? Either improve or get out.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ChoppinBroccoli, ur2K, Anilspider and 3 others
Spider Bob79 said:
I say, either commit the school and program to having a basketball team with a coach and the talent that can win the A-10, and regularly qualify for the NCAA tournament, or move to a conference where the schools are more like UR- small, liberal arts- The Patriot League. Why would the school switch from the CAA to the A-10 if it wasn't dreaming of success on some higher level? Why are they putting other programs, like the UR baseball and soccer, etc., in the A-10 with crazy travel requirements- going to UMASS and Dayton. Do they fly, or is it a bus? Either improve or get out.
Click to expand...

Agreed 100%. Take a fork in the road and stop sitting still and staring at it. I would certainly prefer one of the options but would even prefer the other option over 'status quo'.

FWIW, the people at Colgate looked like they had a ton of fun last night. i could find a way to live with that, as disappointing as it would be.
 
UR80sfan said:
We are going to have a very deep and talented team next year. We might have the top starting 5 in the conference. I also think the the first time in a long time we will have a solid and deep bench. Next year is going the be fun to watch.
Click to expand...
I am surprised people had an issue with this. We are returning Golden and Gilyard, 2 of the top players in the league. We are adding Sherod, who some people on this board were surprised he did not make pre-season top 25. We are also adding Frances who was a mid-major all American. We have Cayo coming back who had one of the top field goal percentage in the league. We also have 4 good freshman coming back that will be battling for a starting position. Our 5 starters next year are all going to be very good players regardless of who they are.
 
  • Like
Reactions: VT4700
UR80sfan said:
I am surprised people had an issue with this. We are returning Golden and Gilyard, 2 of the top players in the league. We are adding Sherod, who some people on this board were surprised he did not make pre-season top 25. We are also adding Frances who was a mid-major all American. We have Cayo coming back who had one of the top field goal percentage in the league. We also have 4 good freshman coming back that will be battling for a starting position. Our 5 starters next year are all going to be very good players regardless of who they are.
Click to expand...

Not sure this question has been answered: How does that lineup defend or rebound the ball?

Any ideas ... or is the plan to just score 90 per game?
 
  • Like
Reactions: ur2K
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

97spiderfan

Current NET ranking

Replies
8
Views
605
UR Basketball Board
wr70beh
wr70beh
Anachnid

CM’s coaching philosophy from his own quotes in RTD

Replies
30
Views
2K
UR Basketball Board
spider23
spider23
S

Marketing Ideas for Spider Basketball

Replies
85
Views
4K
UR Basketball Board
SFspidur
SFspidur
B

Mooney and winning

Replies
21
Views
2K
UR Basketball Board
urfan1
urfan1
97spiderfan

VCU Observations

Replies
21
Views
2K
UR Basketball Board
Anachnid
Anachnid
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest posts

ADVERTISEMENT
Top Bottom
Back